Review: On its initial vinyl and download release late last year, Cherry was proclaimed by critics as being one of Chromatics' strongest albums to date. Given that the Portland band have now released seven acclaimed sets, that's some claim. This first "deluxe" CD edition adds previously unheard cuts and alternative versions, but it's the core set - featured on the first half of the CD - that really sparkles. As you might expect, it's not only full of the atmospheric, slow motion synth-pop with which they made their name, but also a swathe of cuts heavily influenced by the cinematioc soundtrack work Jonny Jewel has been concentrating on since their previous full-length dropped back in 2012. In other words, it's quite possibly Chromatics' most evocative and rounded set to date.

Review: While it was Cliff Martinez who eventually wrote and produced the score for acclaimed movie Drive, it was Jonny Jewel and the Italians Do it Better crew who were originally slated to do it. It's perhaps fitting, then, that Jewel has decided to celebrate the film's fifth anniversary by putting together this brilliant "companion piece". Like the brilliant Symmetry album of a few years back, it's effectively an alternative soundtrack, featuring a combination of soundtrack style compositions originally slated to appear in the movie, and Italians Do it Better material written, recorded and released in the same period. It goes without saying that it's a stunning collection of tracks.

Review: Last year, Italians Do It Better's premier "mystery act" Twisted Wires - recently revealed to be Richard Durham and IDIB main man Jonny Jewel - returned to action for the first time in seven years. Half Lives is the duo's debut album, though it's more like a longer-than-average EP. It includes a combination of fresh songs and previously released material (the jangly, bubbling synth-pop-goes-electrofunk brilliance of "Struck Twice", which is also featured in the even better "Club Mix" form, and the melancholic slo-mo brilliance of "0000"); throughout, the set brilliantly joins the dots between darkwave, Italo-disco, synth-funk and the kind of glistening, radio-friendly fare that Jonny Jewel, in particular, does so well.

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